Information on concomitant drug use was recorded with the Addiction Severity
Index. Perinatal outcomes included pre-term birth (<37 weeks’ gestation), small-for-gestational-age (<10th centile) and neonatal unit admission. NAS outcomes included: incidence of medically treated NAS, peak Finnegan score, cumulative dose of NAS treatment and duration of hospitalization. Findings Of the 114 liveborn infants 11 (9.6%) were born pre-term, 49 (42.9%) were small-for-gestational-age, 56 (49.1%) had a neonatal unit admission and 29 (25.4%)were treated medically for NAS. Neonates exposed to methadone-only had a shorter hospitalization than those exposed to methadone and concomitant drugs (median 5.0 days versus 6.0 days, P = 0.03). Neonates exposed to methadone doses 80 mg required higher cumulative doses of morphine treatment for NAS (median 13.2 mg versus 19.3 mg,P = 0.03).The incidence and duration of NAS did not differ between the two dosage groups.
Conclusions The incidence and duration of the neonatal abstinence syndrome is not associated with maternal methadone dose, but maternal opiate, benzodiazepine or cocaine use is associated with longer neonatal hospitalization
Methadone and perinatal outcomes: a prospective cohort study. Addiction. 2012 Aug;107(8):1482-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03844.x. Epub 2012 May 8.
